Rent Payments

We expect customers to demonstrate behaviours that show a commitment to paying their rent on time, all the time. If you’re coming to us from another landlord and you’re in arrears, you need to be able to evidence at least 6 months payments made by you consistently to clear the debt.

It is not acceptable to pay off debt just to get the keys to a Stockfield home. This does not demonstrate the commitment we look for in our customers.

If your arrears have required legal action to recover the debt, we would expect that the agreed payment plan has been in place for a period of no less than 12 months.

Do you have enough money?

We will carry out a financial assessment which may take up to an hour, either over the phone or in your home. This will help us to understand the level of money advice and support you may require.

Before you bid, you need to make sure you have enough money saved. You will need to provide a month’s rent in advance, cover the cost for removals and any furniture you need.

A typical month’s rent is around £350-500 and removal costs could be around £250-300.

You will need to have this money saved before you bid.

Identification and Evidence

Anyone over 18 living in your new home will need to provide identification.

UK residents will need to provide their birth certificate, national insurance number and a bank statement. Those from outside the UK will need to provide passports, original home office letters and a bank statement.

If you do not have this identification when we visit, we will need to move onto another applicant.

You may be required to give us evidence of your housing need where it is necessary to verify your band if you have applied to us from a choice based lettings scheme that does not do these checks at registration.

References

We will require references from all your previous landlords for the past 5 years. In some cases we may ask for up to 10 years.

If your current or previous landlord was the council or a housing association, we will give you three working days to obtain a reference from them and provide this to us. You need to have the time to do this before you bid.

For a private landlord we will need their name, address, telephone number and an email address. We will want to speak to them and maybe visit them. We will also want to see a copy of your tenancy agreement.

If you have not held a tenancy before we may ask for an employer or other relevant character references.

Police, Social Services and other Agencies

We will work closely with the police, social services and other relevant external agencies. We will ask you some very sensitive questions about criminal convictions, support requirements and medical circumstances. You will need to have all relevant contact details available for us to make contact and discuss your application.

Applying for the right home

You need to make sure you apply for the right home that suits your needs. You will need to read the advert carefully before you bid. Sometimes you will need to have a connection to the area and have evidence to show this.

Interview and online contact

We will carry out an interview. We will ask you to be open and honest about your past and current circumstances.

Home Visit

Once we have completed our lettings process, we will visit you in your current home. We will ask to see documentation, and we may take photographs of your home and ID.

We will want to look around your property to be satisfied that you would look after a home with us, this may include taking some photographs if we have any concerns.

If you’re not available to let us visit you, we will have to move onto the next applicant.

Viewing Properties

You will need to be available at short notice to view potential properties.

Moving Quickly

Stockfield aim to let homes quickly so you will need to be prepared to move very quickly. If you’re serious about moving then start thinking about packing and what you are taking and disposing of. We will not be able to give you time to sort these things out. We expect people to move quickly.

Once you have read the above and have everything prepared, you can bid for a Stockfield home.